women in the workplace: why furry animals ruined my life

On the 5th of every month, bloggers from around the world are open to write about rights and issues concerning women. First started by Shine and Marie, we’re hoping to bring a variety of women’s issues to the forefront to make people aware of what’s going on. For the month of June, we’ve chosen to write about Women in the Workplace. Please join us in telling us your stories, thoughts, and ideas on a monthly basis. To read previous installments, click here.


veterinary medicine is filllllled with women. women DVMs, women technicians, women receptionists.... women, women, women. sometimes we have pillow fights.

and if the DVM is a male, then he's forever talking about "his girls" or "the girls in the back" or "the girls will take care of you." he's forever surrounded by women. the percentage of male techs? low. the percentage of male DVMs only slightly higher. where are the vast majority of male techs and DVMs working? the techs are working at specialty clinics and emergency clinics, the DVMs are doing the same or they own their own hospital.

i went to school to become an RVT (registered veterinary technician). how many men were in my class? one. there was one guy who made it all the way through and there was one who dropped out. my class was 34 people when it started. i was recently told that having my degree was essentially "worthless" because I could have just been trained on the job, it's not helpful and nobody cares about it.

the question is often asked, "why are there so many women in veterinary medicine?" "why is the pay so low?" "why should technicians be required to obtain standardized education?" among people i've met in the industry the ringing phrase that's chanted over and over is "you have to really love animals to work in this field." followed by a chuckled, a knowing smile and the accompanying phrase, "because you're certainly not going to get any money out of it."

i'm not suggesting that we model the veterinary industry after human medicine but an RN is respected, sought after and fairly paid. i must have a much more varied knowledge and skill set to work with animals and my degree is deemed worthless by people in the industry. i have to know about all sorts of very different animals as well as be able to be every "specialty" nurse in the hospital. wellness, routine surgery, ICU, phlebotomist, behavior.... the list goes on.

there are women with the same education as i have who work for a third of what i'm making and that's not much. i can't speak to their skill level but that's just unfair. the base salaries for techs are too varied to even get an idea of what is standard.

on some level, i feel as if an RVT working for $7 an hour is partly to blame. i made strongly suggested a classmate of mine quit the hospital she worked for during school because the current RVT was making what untrained pooper scoopers make at "good" hospitals.

the atrocities that occur on a daily basis in the veterinary business would shock most pet owners. i strongly feel that if a hospital/clinic does not have any credentialed techs in their employment, the DVM is hiding something. in many cases, they do not want educated staff questioning their actions. they do not want staff questioning authority. they do not want to practice high quality medicine, period.

on some level, i feel like women have painted themselves into a corner in my industry. it's so easy to fall in love with tiny cuddly animals and "fix" them for less money or no money. it's so easy for me to want to take on yet another animal that nobody else really cares about. i would not give up the part of me who is able to care and to love animals for any amount of money. it does anger me, however that women use excuses to stay in situations they know are wrong, if only to make a slight difference in the life of the animals in question.

this does not mean that i condone any woman working in less than ideal circumstances just because "nobody else will." it makes me angry that women will not (cannot?) stand up for themselves when it comes to money. yes, i love most of my job but i will not work at a hospital that does not adhere to high standards in medicine, does not respect my education and will not pay me a fair amount of money. i wish i could convince other women to do the same.